Medication should be the answer for dog that pees in its sleep

QUESTION: I am worried about my dog. She is a five-year-old black lab, very active and healthy in general. In the past couple of months I have noticed that she wets her bed. What started as only an occasional mishap is becoming more and more frequent.

She is fixed so she can’t be pregnant. To be honest, at first I got very mad, she is house trained from puppyhood and I thought she is acting rebelliously.

However, then I was a witness to her urinating while she was in deep sleep, without even being conscious and aware of that.

Another thing that started to happen, although very rarely, is when she is super excited she’ll have an accident. Just when my kids grew up and I thought that I’m done with diapers, my dog gets all out of control. What is the next step? Are there any doggie diapers? Help ....

ANSWER: The problem your dog has is well known in the veterinary world. Although it is not very common, we do see female dogs with urinary incontinence. This is most commonly attributed to the spay, usually when it is done in early age.

Spaying a dog in early life, especially if done before the first estrus cycle, denies the female of producing feminine hormones. This has the great advantage of preventing mammary cancer later in life.

However, the most common possible side effects related to the lack of these hormones is the weakness of the bladder sphincter muscle.

This weakness of the sphincter is what is causing these accidents. You may have heard that women in menopause are also subjected to having difficulties controlling their bladders.

Fortunately there is help. I have a great experience with a medication that helps regaining the strength of the bladder sphincter muscle. Having said all of that, before concluding that that is your dog’s problem, a physical exam and other tests, especially urine tests have to be done to first rule out urinary tract infections or other urinary tracts abnormalities.

QUESTION: My six-year-old Boxer has a horrible habit of chewing on everything she can get her teeth on. I can’t even start to describe the variety of objects I took out of her mouth.

This awful hobby of hers has cost me a lot of money, and her a lot of pain and suffering having to go through operations to remove things out of her intestine. How do I put a stop to that? How do I prevent her from chewing on everything she encounters?

ANSWER: As a former owner of a dog that had the same problem, I could only relate. My beloved golden retriever Tomchik, who passed away of old age, put me through the same challenges that your dog puts you through.

My suggestions to you are, firstly ruling out a medical problem that leads to a condition called pica.

Pica is a pathological tendency to eat foreign materials. It could be caused by a nutritional deficiency or some metabolic diseases.

If a medical cause was ruled out, that means the problem is probably behavioral. My best recommendation for you would be to limit the dog’s exposure to foreign objects to the best of your ability. Do not give the dog any pet toys. Inhibit any access to garbage bins. Walk your dog on a leash so you can monitor it all the time and even walk the dog with a muzzle on.

Some people might find this recommendation to be extreme but with some dogs it is just better to be safe than sorry.

Dr. Noa Oz is a veterinarian at Rose Valley Veterinary Hospital.